Knitting during labour:
This subject has really touched my heart and prompted a rare response!
As an expert midwife and expert knitter it is clear to me that that both skills are completely misunderstood by those charged with the process of managing midwifery. Accomplished knitters are relaxed, alert, and confident and do not look at or concentrate on their knitting. Presumably the reading of guidelines, relevant evidence based literature and women’s health records, which requires visual concentration and detachment from other processes in the room, whilst supporting a labouring woman is acceptable to all concerned.
RCT? Great idea Chris!
Amanda Hutcherson
Midwifery Lecturer
Department of Midwifery and Child Health
School of Health Sciences
City University, London
0207 040 5871
________________________________________
From: MIDWIFERY-RESEARCH automatic digest system [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 15 April 2012 00:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: MIDWIFERY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Apr 2012 to 14 Apr 2012 (#2012-88)
There are 5 messages totaling 703 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. knitting during labour (2)
2. Delivering better maternity care toolkit available
3. A breastfeeding community project
4. lake Nyos Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:39:54 +1000
From: Pamela Harnden <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: knitting during labour
Hi everyone,
I have given further thought to this issue of 'knitting in labour' and as a
follow up to Sam's email of having a midwife present who was knitting
rather than none at all.
This is an observation I recently left on a discussion board
I was sat in the coffee room on the birthing suite when a midwife came in
and sat down with another midwife and she began to discuss the young person
she was providing care for during this shift. She was describing how she
was really just in latent phase of labour and even after having pethidine
was still distressed. This young person had no support person with her
because they had gone home to rest. The young person was alone in the room
trying to cope. The midwife was in the coffee room discussing how she was
going to need an epidural with her colleagues. I spent 6 hours on birth
suite that day. The midwife spent just a tiny fraction of those 6 hours
with the young person. The midwife wandered into the room did a fetal heart
recording and wandered out again to sit and chat with her colleagues in the
coffee room leaving this young person alone and distressed. I became
distressed the longer this went on just thinking of this person alone in a
birthing room.
I wonder have midwives forgotten the art and spirituality of actually being
'with women'?
This midwife I witnessed had no other woman to look after and the birthing
suite was quiet. She was a relatively young midwife. I wonder now how that
manager would feel about weighing the pro's and cons of having a midwife
knitting in the room or sat in the coffee room/office.
Cheers
Pam Harnden
On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 7:31 PM, McCourt, Christine <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Perhaps it needs a RCT!
>
>
> On 12/04/2012 10:17, "Samantha Murphy" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I am a member of this group who doesn't happen to be a midwife but does
> happen to be a sociologist of human reproduction. I am also a mother who
> when giving birth had long stretches when there was no midwife present. To
> add my thoughts, for what they are worth, I would rather have a midwife in
> attendance who was knitting, then no midwife at all! I think it is a
> rather lovely and comforting idea.
> This seems to me to be a rather good research project.
> Best wishes,
> Sam
>
>
--
Pam Harnden
Health E Learning Consultancy
Web: http://m <http://midwifeblogger.blogspot.com>idwifeblogger.blogspot.com
Phone: +61 431 259 755
Skype: pamela.harnden
Twitter: SmilingPamela
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 10:43:08 +0100
From: Francesca Turner <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: knitting during labour
Dear All I cannot express how sad this last post has made me feel. I am retiring at the end of May and feel genuine fear that the noble art of being with a woman, empowering her on what for me is the greatest day of her life, will be lost to the medicalisation of drugs and doctors and the starnglehold of governance. I have always told women that the best analgesias of all are belief in the power of the woman's body and the midwife supporting her - in any form that is necessary which will include the wise art of doing nothing but still being there. I have for a long time now become despairing of the midwives who use the CTG to 'monitor' the labour while they are on an extended break, little realising if nothing else that the machine will dutifully record not monitor and that alone is dangerous. Alongside that there is the ever increasing load of paperwork and records that have to be completed removing the midwife from the room. I have even heard a manager commenting that a particular midwife was 'efficient' because her records were so neat and tidy!! My heart goes out to the poor girl left alone in such a frightening place but know that she will not be a rarity rather a member of an ever-growing number of women whom we have abandoned. And unfortunately I have a feeling that the increasing drive towards more academia and governance rather than more knitting will compound that. Composure and confidence can calm a room and a woman - I am not sure that these can be acquired so easily. And so I leave this group next month with sadness having enjoyed a career which gave me great satisfaction and rewards of the smiles and tears of joy and the squirming of new life. I wish you all well and hope that somehow between you with your wisdom you can stop the decline. Thanks to you all Frankie T.Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:39:54 +1000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: knitting during labour
To: [log in to unmask]
Hi everyone,
I have given further thought to this issue of 'knitting in labour' and as a follow up to Sam's email of having a midwife present who was knitting rather than none at all.
This is an observation I recently left on a discussion board
I was sat in the coffee room on the birthing suite when a midwife came in and sat down with another midwife and she began to discuss the young person she was providing care for during this shift. She was describing how she was really just in latent phase of labour and even after having pethidine was still distressed. This young person had no support person with her because they had gone home to rest. The young person was alone in the room trying to cope. The midwife was in the coffee room discussing how she was going to need an epidural with her colleagues. I spent 6 hours on birth suite that day. The midwife spent just a tiny fraction of those 6 hours with the young person. The midwife wandered into the room did a fetal heart recording and wandered out again to sit and chat with her colleagues in the coffee room leaving this young person alone and distressed. I became distressed the longer this went on just thinking of this person alone in a birthing room.
I wonder have midwives forgotten the art and spirituality of actually being 'with women'?
This midwife I witnessed had no other woman to look after and the birthing suite was quiet. She was a relatively young midwife. I wonder now how that manager would feel about weighing the pro's and cons of having a midwife knitting in the room or sat in the coffee room/office.
CheersPam Harnden
On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 7:31 PM, McCourt, Christine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Perhaps it needs a RCT!
On 12/04/2012 10:17, "Samantha Murphy" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi all,
I am a member of this group who doesn't happen to be a midwife but does happen to be a sociologist of human reproduction. I am also a mother who when giving birth had long stretches when there was no midwife present. To add my thoughts, for what they are worth, I would rather have a midwife in attendance who was knitting, then no midwife at all! I think it is a rather lovely and comforting idea.
This seems to me to be a rather good research project.
Best wishes,
Sam
--
Pam Harnden
Health E Learning Consultancy
Web: http://midwifeblogger.blogspot.comPhone: +61 431 259 755
Skype: pamela.harnden
Twitter: SmilingPamela
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:24:30 +0100
From: "Sandall, Jane" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Delivering better maternity care toolkit available
Delivering better maternity care conference
29 March 2012, London
Following our conference 'Delivering better maternity care, all speaker presentations and audio from the event will be available on our website (www.kingsfund.org.uk/events<http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/events>), so please feel free to make your colleagues and partners aware of the learning opportunity.
We would be grateful if you could also promote the Safer Births toolkit to your colleagues. It is freely available to download from our website (www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/maternity_safety.html<http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/maternity_safety.html>) and a free copy is being sent to every maternity service in England.
Once again thank you very much for taking part in the conference and we hope that you found it both useful and enjoyable.
Yours sincerely
Dr Anna Dixon
Director of Policy
Fiona Lyne
Head of Events
The King's Fund
Telephone 020 7307 2479
Email [log in to unmask]<blocked::mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Website www.kingsfund.org.uk<blocked::http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/>
The King's Fund, 11-13 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0AN
Registered charity 1126980
________________________________
Improving care for older people
Our two new reports expose the unacceptable standards of care faced by frail older people in some of our hospitals and care settings.
www.kingsfund.org.uk/continuity<http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/continuity>
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:29:31 +0100
From: Ngala Elvis Mbiydzenyuy <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: A breastfeeding community project
The Institute of Science Technology Breastfeeding Research and Advocacy Center, the only of such center in Cameroon focused on breastfeeding is about to carry out a project in one of the most dreaded towns in Cameroon that experienced what geographers and geologist called the greatest lake disaster in the 20th century which consumed thousand of life.
This area has not felt the touch and concern of the ministry of health in the proportion to other communities. It is mostly inhabited by Fulani cattle rearers who culturally replace breast milk with cow milk. Higher rates of infant morbidity and mortality have been recorded in the last decade in this area.
It is our desire to invade and transform this area through community participatory research and increase exclusive breastfeeding rates.
The Institute is looking for potential funding. Can any one link us to potential funding. We will also like to collaborate with any organization/institution/individual desiring to carry out this project
Best regards
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:55:41 +0100
From: Ngala Elvis Mbiydzenyuy <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: lake Nyos Area
Dear colleagues
The Institute of Science Technology Breastfeeding Research and Advocacy Center, the only of such center in Cameroon focused on breastfeeding is about to carry out a project in one of the most dreaded towns in Cameroon that experienced what geographers and geologist called the greatest lake disaster in the 20th century which consumed thousand of life.
This area has not felt the touch and concern of the ministry of health in the proportion to other communities. It is mostly inhabited by Fulani cattle rearers who culturally replace breast milk with cow milk. Higher rates of infant morbidity and mortality have been recorded in the last decade in this area.
It is our desire to invade and transform this area through community participatory research and increase exclusive breastfeeding rates.
The Institute is looking for potential funding. Can any one link us to potential funding. We will also like to collaborate with any organization/institution/individual desiring to carry out this project
Best regards
------------------------------
End of MIDWIFERY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Apr 2012 to 14 Apr 2012 (#2012-88)
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